Red Sea Health Insurance Discusses Evening Clinics to Ease Clinic Queues and Medicine Shortages

The general manager of state health insurance in the Red Sea Governorate, Dr Romani Wahid Marcos, has reviewed ways of reducing crowding inside the branch's clinics and of dealing with shortages of medicines and medical supplies, in a meeting with the branch's department directors and section heads. The Egyptian news portal Sada El-Balad reported the meeting.

Among the options discussed was the opening of evening clinics, with operating rules and procedures to be set before any evening service formally begins. The meeting also looked at a flexible working-hours system for staff, intended to spread demand and shorten queues.

What has been decided, and what has not

• The evening clinics and the flexible rota are proposals discussed at the meeting. The report describes no start date and no change to current opening hours.
• The projects department was asked to set out what work has already been done on the new Hurghada clinics building and what is holding up its fitting-out, so that it can enter service as soon as possible under the set timetable. No opening date is given.
• The citizen-service department was instructed to deal directly with insured patients over problems including electronic booking. The report names no telephone number or channel for that.

The meeting also reviewed how regularly the clinics and affiliated units are operating, which medical specialities are available, and the readiness of the medical centres and laboratories the branch contracts with, according to the report. The branch's facilities include a comprehensive clinic in Hurghada.

Dr Marcos said daily follow-up and coordination between departments were essential to improving the service, Sada El-Balad reported. The report does not say when the meeting was held.